 Hello again, St. Lucia, and welcome to the program, Agriculture on the Move. My name is Philip Sidney, your host. Today, I have a very special guest, and of course, the topic is a very special topic. His name is the vulnerable Christian Glasgow, who is the Archdeacon of the Holy 20th Elegant Church in St. Lucia. Welcome to the program, sir. Thank you, Sidney. Thank you for having me. Definitely, as I said, I was expecting, you know, you were here last week, but unfortunately, you were here this week. Well, nothing before it started. Before it started. I think today we are here to discuss the breadfruits and breadnut festival. It's called Festé Bois-Pais-Épée Châtagne. I'm sure that's not new to you, right? No, it is not. Coming on the heels of the banana festival that was organized a few months ago, you were here now looking at the breadfruit and the Châtagne. What is the significance between the marriage between the emancipation day, that is when the activity is going to be happening, and the breadnut festival? Right. So the marriage is not an estranged one. Night is the difficult one. The breadfruit and breadnut, those are two fruits that are not indigenous to these Caribbean lands, as you probably will know, and part of their history is tied with slavery. Emancipation has to do with slavery, and hence the marriage of a breadfruit-breadnut festival as part of our celebration of emancipation. So in essence, this is all about putting to work our history without having issues of what the history of the past was, and having that affect us in the present. The fact of the matter is, breadfruit and breadnut are two fruits that are proliferous in these Caribbean lands, and specifically here in St. Lucia. But they are two underused fruits, and for us as church, we have to take into consideration that our well-being as a church, it's tied up with the well-being of the nation. Now we are well aware that the integral part of this nation's well-being has to do with food security. And so right off, as a church that seeks to emulate Christ in his truthful approach to mission, that of worship, healing, and teaching, worshipping, and healing, and teaching quite obvious. Healing, people are paid of attention to, healing is not just about making ill good, but healing is about meeting the needs of people as they exist. So in that context there, for us as church, having to survive here in this St. Lucia society economy, it is to our interest too to ensure that this nation and its economy thrives. And so the issue of food security, and when you look at the breadfruit and the breadnut, there are two fruits, as I said earlier, that are prolific on these lands. And yet, they are a treasure that we have not yet explored fully. And we believe that if some serious effort is put into exploring the usage, not just of the fruit, but the several byproducts, certainly our food security can be enhanced, and whole issue of our economy can also be enhanced. And hence that's the backdrop just to start with about that marriage. It's interestingly you mentioned food security, and every time I heard food security, in fact food and nutrition security, my minister comes into play, the minister for agriculture. His mantra for the ministry is to ensure that we have a good policy for food and nutrition security. And I'm happy that you've mentioned it because we also have a tagline in the ministry, eat fresh St. Lucia's best, meaning that we should consume all of what we produce on island. Okay? In so doing, we will be able to lower our food import bill. And that's all it takes. You know, it was get the farmers to be empowered, get the housewife and persons who can grow something in the backyard, so that we can lower our import importation of those crops and then utilize it in a way that it is healthy for us, it's fresh and healthy, as opposed to the imported ones. And Sidney, I can relate to that. I'm a Vincentian, and I experienced the 70s on a prime minister called James Mitchell. And like your food and nutrition department over here, during the 70s, we had him back on a project of eat what you grow and grow what you eat. And I recall back then, our prime minister banned the importation of a number of items that he thought we could have done without because we had a substitute here in St. Vincent. So out of that, things like Irish potato and grapes and those were banned. And we learned in St. Vincent to make even rotis using tanya and breadfruit as opposed to the English potato. And then we learned to develop a number of dishes around the breadfruit to begin with. And pies, drinks, breadfruit, the punches, the wines, the ice cream, and that whole lot. And to my mind, this is something that is useful. And as church, we are seeking to inculcate that among our people. We are also involved with our schools. And that takes me back to the banana festival we had earlier on. Because not many people recognize the value of a ripe banana. Put alongside that sending an apple. Have you realized that of recent times, a number of the sports, especially tennis, the stars carry a ripe banana which they will munch on during their break? Why? The value of it. And yet we have it knocking here. And our children have been fed on some high energy foods, high in potassium, leading towards the other indices that are killing our economy here. High in sugars and all of that. And this is our mantra, like I said, in the ministry. And over the years, I have championed the agro-processing activity in the ministry. We have approximately 60 agro-processers in San Wusha. On the heels of your banana festival, maybe around the same time, we were thinking the same thing. And we were well ahead in preparing ours while you were preparing yours. So we took off from where you were left off. And then we did the culinary aspect of it. And let me tell you, the schools, I mean, the schools came out in a big, big way. If you saw what the school kids did. And so here is the chance for us to change the mindset for the future of this nation, starting with our schools. How about your marketing cooperation, entering into agreements with our schools to supply fresh fruits? And then our school management began to talk with the vendors who sell to our children and ensure that if you're going to sell in our compound or cross our compound, you need to be selling healthy foods. And if you're not selling healthy foods, you're not selling healthy foods, you would not be allowed to vendor. I totally agree. And that's how we move beyond from talk. I agree. We all took a drastic move in St. Vincent by banning impotence. And trust me, I'm in agreement with that, you know? Yes. We have to be drastic to ensure that people understand. Not only that, right now our food in the markets are soaring, they are rising, okay? Let us assume there is a disaster and the ships cannot come in to bring. As we experienced recently. Exactly. So what are we going to do? But we need to feed ourselves as a nation. We need to feed ourselves. So we need to start somewhere, okay? Breadfruits, I mean I grew up on a farm. I carried breadfruits, let me tell you. I remember, I mean, we have hills and valleys, okay, where I lived, we had some hills and we had to go down to the bottom and to pick breadfruits. And then, you know, they were not in bags, so you have to tie them together, okay? And imagine you climbing up that hill slowly of about eight or ten breadfruits on your head. When it's almost to the top, the thing there's decent degrees and the whole thing rolling up. So you have to run here and get one and you have to bring it back up the hill. I grew up in that. I grew up well, we were boiling breadfruits alone, right, in trenches, okay? And then we have our meal and the following, they just warm that next thing and then that's what we had years ago. So I grew up with breadfruits. Shartan is the same thing. I love Shartan myself, you know, breadnut is something that we grew up as a staple, you know? I mean, we need to ensure, I mean, we cannot give the kids, you know, a chunk of breadfruit to eat. That has gone. So we have to get the breadfruit chips and the fries and this and that to give the kids, let it be palatable so that they can consume it. I don't know if you were, okay, in the ministry, we were not here, we had a breadfruit program where we exported breadfruit to the UK, there was a demand for breadfruit. But one of the things we were looking at quality, we had to prevent that fruit from falling on the ground because once it did the ground, it will crack on the inside, okay, and just have to rot. So we had to pick it by hand to ensure that we have a good breadfruit. The other thing was because the breadfruit was so tall, it was difficult to get to the fruit. So we had to cut it back at a reasonable height. Now by cutting it back what we did, we had less breadfruit per tree, but you had bigger breadfruit. Right. Okay? So you have what you call a kali, right, to pick. And this is what I'm trying to get to you all, so that you can showcase. Some years ago we had a colleague, this Kato Kali, it was designed by one of our engineers, right, Martin Sartney, it was an engineer in our ministry. So we have that, I'm hoping to give it to showcase, all right, so that people will see what you can do when you come to pick in breadfruit. So breadfruit has been with us for a while, but I think right now we need to do more in terms of the derivatives of breadfruit, so that people can see what can be done. And to cut out some of the imported flour, we're going to do breadfruit flour. Oh, yes. And the list goes on. On and on. And I'm hoping that you will have, you know, that sort of exhibition to showcase that. In fact, several cottage industries have come on board with us and will be showcasing their products along that line there too. In addition to the breadfruit that's something we eat, the breadfruit tree in itself, I don't remember when he used to make board from it. Yes, yes, yes. That was part of our construction industry. As a matter of fact, a couple of years back, a certain governor general from Sylvain Sue, when he died, he insisted that his coffin should be made from breadfruit wood. Wow. So even that, that will be some of the things that will be showcasing there, the uses of the tree itself. But I think one of the highlights that you'll find very important would be the collaboration with Synagustin University in Trinidad. Hold that point, we'll do for our break. You're watching Agriculture on the Move. We'll do for our first break. See you soon. All the chemicals and horrors used to accelerate their growth. All the artificial flavoring, sweeteners and colors too. We consume and we don't spare a thought for the damage that they'll do. Oh. Think about the children. Think about the children. Pulse and GMO's are not the solution. Use organic and join us. Excessive agrochemical use, additives and genetically modified foods are harmful to health and the environment. Join the Good Food Revolution. Grow, buy and consume organic. A message from Rye St. Lucia and the Ministry of Sustainable Development with funding from the GEF Small Grants Program, UNDP. The Good Food Revolution. Welcome back to the program, Agriculture on the Move. And of course, with me, my guest, they are Deacon Glasgow. And of course, he is attached to the Anglican Church in St. Lucia. We were talking about the many uses of breadfruit. We talk about, for example, your participants. But you also talk about some research that's been done in St. Augustine. Can you tell us about this? Right, so it seems to be just around 30 years or so. That's in Augustine, has been doing research in breadfruit, but not just breadfruit from this region, but from several areas of the world. And part of the research has to do with extracts to be used in medicine. And so when you come to our festival, you will be seeing an electronic display of some of that research. It's currently being led by Professor Daley. And that actually comes in as part of the fourth theme for the festival. Maybe I could just run through the four themes quickly. So the first theme is the historical background on slavery and emancipation via portrayal and educational medium, including discussions, lectures on indigenous people. And so there's a day rather when we'll have that lecture as part of the exhibition. All the lectures will be in the church, running simultaneously with the activities on the outside and the annex. The second theme, which is the obvious one, food, nutrition, security, and culinary benefits. And the third theme, manufactured items and use of breadfruit and breadnut. Again, that's where the cottage industry and others will come in. And as mentioned, the fourth theme, they will forward with future research and sustainability of the program, basically that whole issue of the breadfruit and other things. So this whole celebration of emancipation doesn't just stay with the idea of slavery, but it also has to do with above Mali point, emancipating Mali. You're meant for mental slavery. Exactly. And an integral part of a problem in these Caribbean lands is that we're still enslaved mentally. And so as church, we see it as our responsibility. Because after all, the gospel is one of liberation, liberation in all its forms. And that's a crucial part of what directs us as church. I was assigned here in 2018. And I hold a slightly different view from my predecessor. Because naturally, we have different generations, and our training is different. And so I tend to use applied theology more than anything else. And in fact, when I did my master's, which was in applied theology, the dissertation was strategic management as a response to the church decline, et cetera. So that was the attitude that I came into my assignment here with. It so happened that from my youthful days, and I'm not that young, I knew a couple of guys from the church in St. Prussia. And you're linked up again, Cecil Charles, David Jordan, Ember Charles, and these others. And immediately, we saw the necessity to employ strategic management to take the church forward. So the first year or two was spent doing an analysis of our operating environment as church. Out of that, our strategic plan was developed. And part of it had to do with how we engage the communities around us. Because that is an integral part of being church. And so it was out of that that we started with a collaboration with the Historical Society and Leiden University to put off the caribbean ties last August as part of our response to emancipation. And I must let you know that the church and the church is very much involved in terms of celebrating emancipation. There are specific elections, readings, et cetera, and prayers that we have for emancipation day. And this always has to do with our involvement as a church, recognizing what was our folly in the past. Because like it or not, my brother, the Anglican church was involved with slaves. We had slaves, all of that. And so that was then, is a different situation. And clergy of my ilk recognized that. And we're not going to use that to be a prison for us, but rather use it to enlighten us for our present and the future. And so that was part of the backdrop that allowed us to understand that in exercising mission and ministry, even though we're directed by the five marks of mission, an integral part of that is responding to human need with love and service. And so those are some of the ideas that keep us on track. Yes, and that crystallizes into the events that you're doing. Exactly. Very good, very good. So you'll notice for us as church, it is not only, yes, you meet for these songs of praise and all of that on the Sunday and other days. But as one of our clergymen once said to us, if there is just a lot of worship, you're a community engagement. All you're doing is building spiritual ghettos. That is to say, that all you're doing is talking of sales away from the people you're supposed to be serving. So that's part of the driving factor behind whatever we find us to do. Now, I know you're another time, but maybe this might be a useful time for me to just address this directly to the nation. As church and as a church leader, I know persons will like to link me with particular political parties. To do that is folly. Yes, I'm political because as a church leader, I must be involved in the life of the nation, and that's politics. But partisan political, no. Because as a pastor, I have to minister to the full spectrum of political opinions in my congregation. And to have a particular bias will certainly diminish the ministry I'm called to exercise. So yes, to the interlutions, you may say what you want to say. Archduke and Grasko is political, but he's not partisan political. Well said, well said. How many days is this exhibition? What's the duration? Basically six. So we begin Sunday the 31st, and we end Saturday the 6th. Take us through the activities leading up to the 6th. Right, so every day at the annex from 9 to 6 in the afternoon, we'll be open to have persons come in. The exhibits are going to be there every day. Among the exhibits would be the cooking demonstrations, the exhibits of the cottage industry and those things, the exhibits of the research work. But then on specific days, and these will be announced, there will be the lectures that will take place in the church based on the various themes that I outlined. And one of the lectures that I think would be extremely important interest into us is the one that has to do with indigenous people here in St. Lucia. So there is that range of activities to take place. Very good. In terms of entertainment, will you have entertainment or throughout the week? Yes, there will be some local entertainment that will take place on a daily basis. And some of it will be in Creole. There will be drumming and things like that. And even some singing too and pure dance and these things. OK. And of course, will there be food on sale? So you come there during the day, you can at lunchtime, you can get something to buy? Well, some of the dishes that are going to be displayed will be on sale too. And of course, there will be some drink alongside. So you can come and probably spend the whole day there. Oh, so it's a family affair kind of thing. It is a family affair. And that's another aspect that you'll find for us as church. This year, our theme is intentional discipleship, hashtag the family. And so whatever we do the same in terms of activities, there will be a family orientation. Our gospel is a couple of weeks ago. Yes, right, right, right. It is family-oriented too. So that's how you'll find our activities. Will you have some gospel if those there too? Boy, you never know how to come and see. That'll be interesting. You know, I have ties with the Annican Church there, because that Annican church, even my go there, I remember that's where I, that was the primary school. Yes, yes. And I went there. You know, and when I went in there, they just bought back memories. And I remember we used to play table tennis there. That's right. You know, and every afternoon, I remember people like Frank Myers, myself, we used to go and we used to play table tennis there. So that, and I remember there was a, there was a tree on the outside, we used to send stones in it to pick the fruits and stuff. So I mean, I know this place by the back of my hand. And from there, I went to the primary school. Primary school, yes. At the front, you know. Where my, my, my head massed the past of this, Mr. Weeks. Mr. Weeks, yes, the famous gentleman. No, man, this gentleman, I can never forget him, man. Yeah, so he was, he was my, I, before him was a general, Mr. Mirai, who was an Indian guy. But Mr. Weeks spent a lot of, many, many, many years. Yes. You know, at the young school. But you know what I remember the breakthrough to when I was growing up? You know, when you, when you cut the, the, the pack of it, you know, it had this, this white material that comes out. And after a while, it oxidates. Right. And then it turns into gum. And you know what we used to have as kids? Take sugar and put it in. That's your chewing gum. I think I still immediately, I don't know how to cross the card yet. Local chewing gum. Yes. So maybe that might be in the street too. Maybe, you know, look at, that's right, that's right. Because maybe it, it may have some properties when it comes to maybe glue. That's right. You know, in the industry that come, probably one, one, one, one can, one can look at. But are you looking to having, you see, a recipe book to, to, to depict all what you're going to be showcasing there on the, for the, for the five days or six days? Well, we have persons in the congregation who have actually written recipe, recipe books. And I believe some of that would be displayed there. I am not to show if there'll be a total coalition when the festival is completed, including that, the banana, and I can't let this secret But there are others to come. Okay. All right. So tell us again when the date, when it starts the venue and everything else. So it begins this Sunday, the 31st. It goes right to Saturday, the 6th. It is the main activities at the Anglican Annex on Trinity Church Road. Sub-activities, the lecturers will be in the church which is right next door. And so you can come from about nine and we'll run up until approximately six o'clock each day, at least from the Monday. This Sunday, basically, we just have the, the completion of the setting up and the blessing and opening ceremony in the afternoon. But certainly the Monday and onwards you would have the activities. Well, I wish you success. In fact, I think we are going through to do because we did a banana, we did a banana, we did a mango, now you're doing a breadfruit and then we're going to into Seymour's. Well that is lovely. Beautiful. And this is how we need to function as a nation collaboratively for the benefit of all, you know. It's not about scoring marks. No, no, no. It's all about drawing out the best together. When we complement each other. Yes. And that's what this requires. And let me just say, I mean, as terms of agriculture, as of the intention, you should know that I'm very close to the soil. Yes. And I'm a registered farmer here in St. Lucia. Very good, very good, very good. So I hope to see, I want to see what your farm and what you're selling, eh? Yes. Well, you've got to mark me and you see my product. I'll use Mr. Locobino about that. Please do that. Well, thank you, as Mr. Glasgow, as you can Glasgow for being here and I wish you success. Thank you sir. And blesses to any of your programs. You've been watching Agriculture on the Move. Make sure you attend this activity, the Bread, Fruit and Breadnut Festival. Bois-Pépis Chatang. And remember our Simmos Festival coming up on October 16th at Fodor. I'm Philippe Sidney. Goodbye. Thank you again sir. Thank you. Agriculture on the Move. Agriculture on the Move. Agriculture on the Move. Agriculture on the Move. Agriculture on the Move. Agriculture on the Move. Agriculture on the Move. Agriculture on the Move.